Apologia Chemistry: Articles

Most of my background teaching has been in private schools and home-school students.  I did teach in a public high school for several years.  The science teachers were instructed to increase the amount of reading and writing assigned to our students.  It was painful.  I learned that if the articles and writing topics were interesting the kids would participate.  I orders class subscriptions to ChemMatters.  I tried to devise interesting writing exercises.

1.  Should you get a tattoo?  We read Going Skin Deep and Tattoo Ink Chemistry.  In class we did a simple risk analysis by listing risks and benefits.  I asked the kids to write a paragraph to determine if the risks outweighed the benefits or vice versa.  They wrote volumes about whether or not a teen should get a tattoo.

2.  Otzi the Iceman and Bog Mummies.  How do scientists determine the age of accidental mummies?  

Start with this Smithsonian article about Otzi.  I like to show kids where the Dolomites are.  Then we discuss Radiocarbon dating.  How do scientists know Otzi’s mummy is 5300 years old?

3.  Money.  The Captivating Chemistry of Coins, The Money Makers (Scroll down.), Counterfeiting Counter Measures, and The Chemistry of Money.  It’s fun to look at US and international bank notes with a digital microscope connected to a laptop—which allows two or three students to view the images.  I ask the kids questions such as, ‘How do governments deter counterfeits?’  ‘How can you detect fake bills?’  Here is a question from the October 2019 of ChemMatters.  ‘  

9. Digital currency and transactions (credit and debit cards, Venmo, online banking, etc.) have reduced the use of paper bills.  What are the pros and cons of using digital currency and transactions compared to traditional cash?

Students answers will vary, Examples

Pros:  Limits counterfeiting of paper money, Do not have to carry cash, Reduced cost for government to produce new money.

Cons: Cyber crime, fraud, identity theft, stolen information, prone to technology issues and failures.’

Ask the class if cash should be eliminated.  This should produce a lively discussion.  Do a brief risk analysis and have the kids list risks and benefits.  Do the risks outweigh the benefits or vice versa?